- Private schooling versus public schooling
- Introduction
- The public school refers to the school that are owned and operated by the government. Most of the government schools do not charge for the tuitions although in some cases they may levy charges to cover on the cost of supplies of different materials. The government through the federal state or the local taxes finances the public schools. Individuals on the other hand finance and operate the private schools. In this case therefore the private schools tend to have different admission requirement from the public school. Due to the difference in the ownership and administration of the public and the private school the academic standard among other factors also tend to differ. This essay therefore analyses some of the causes and the difference in the private and public schooling system. In addition this essay also presents some of the possible factors that determine the choice of education system chosen by the parents for their kids. In this case the essay analyses the role of cost and social class in determining the choice of the education system.
- Problems associated with public school
- Influence of the politicians
- The poor performance on most of the public school can be attributed to the political influence. This is because most of the people who control the government-owned schools are mainly political appointee. This therefore implies that these people managing the public school may not have the necessary information required to make efficient decision. Most of the political appointee who controls the public sector mainly pursues their political and personal ideologies. In relation to this the government may therefore end up providing services that are valued less than the cost of production or fail to provide the intended services. The needs of various special groups in the public school may easily be neglected since the individuals who operate these institutions do not care to provide quality services.
- Considering the public school system it is also evident that there are no direct feedbacks to mechanism to show whether the decision made are collect to improve the performance in these schools (Al-Natour, et el 205). This is because the current public provisions of education are made through the political process. In this case therefore most of these decisions developed are not in the interest of the children. The political influence in most of the public school is felt largely due the presence of various trade unions. Most of the unions try to impose various regulatory burdens on the private sector rivals. In addition most of the teachers unions try to politicize the process of determining the educations process. This has in turn led development of policies that cannot help in improving of the education levels in the public school system. However, for the case of the private schools it is evident that these types of school have a lean management structure, which makes it easy for them to make decision.
- Poor teaching
- Another major problems associated with the public school system is the fact that it does not encourage good teaching practices. This is because most of the teacher’s provisions depend on the political process. In this case therefore in order for the teachers to win a pay raise they must be inclined in the political and the industrials campaign rather than successful satisfying of the customer. The teachers in most cases are forced to compete with the unsympathetic government. In relation to the various variables that are used to determine the teacher pay by the government in most cases do not relate to good teaching methods in anyway. Variable used to assess the pay levels in the public sectors in most case fail to include the formal credentials. Failure of the government to apply good variable has in turn led to lowering of the teachers’ morale. Some of the talented people who join these public schools are likely to leave when they realize that their superior performance bring no reward. Most of the good teachers loose motivation and end up moving to private schools where they are able to receive a better pay.
- The teachers unions also contribute to poor teaching methods in the public school system. Most of the teachers union also pushes for the centralized control of the school system. In this case the unions push to ensure that the school principals are denied power to control the teaching standard in schools. This has in turn denied the principals in most of these public school powers to control the behavior of the teachers. The unions push for the centralized school system, which determine the amount of the pay and the decision to dismiss the teachers. In relation to this there are no sanctions available for the teachers who fail to deliver. This has in turn led tom the lowering of the education standard among the public schools.
- Analyzing the teachers in the private schools it is evident that some of them are better paid compared to their public counterpart. This therefore makes the teachers in the private school to be motivated to work hard so that the students can perform well. In addition, most of the private schools hire teachers who are more qualified in their respective field. Better qualification of the teachers in the private schools helps in improving the level of education in these schools since these teachers are able to deliver.
- Moreover most of the private schools have poor academic programs compared to the private schools. One case example that shows that there is poor academic programs in public schools is the fact that most of the teacher in the public school do not spend more time with the kids in the elementary levels however their private counterpart spend quality time with the kid in their elementary levels and therefore ensuring that they better prepared for their later school life (Imran 63). In relation to this most of the private school teachers handle the student homework with high level of seriousness than the public teachers. In addition most of the private school tends to have good academic programs. For instance most of the private schools in USA require that a student can also take a 2-year foreign language study.
- Poor facilities
- Most of the facilities in the public school system are in poor condition compared to the private schools. One of the major reasons for the presence of low teaching facilities in the public is the fact that these public schools rely on the political support for the development and maintenance of the facilities ( Misra, et el 306 ). The private schools in most case use the facilities they have to reflect on their success of the school. The presence of good facilities in the school play critical role in determining the success in education. In this case the presence of good modern library help in ensuring that the student are able to get access to information from the books. The presence of well-equipped laboratory in the private help to ensure that the student are prepared well for science subjects. Most importantly, some of the private schools offer students with good sporting facilities that help to capture the student with sporting talent.
- Considering the class size in most of the public schools it is evident that the teacher student ratio may not be sufficient to support effective learning. Some of the public school have a class size of about 35-40 student which exceeding the normal student ratio of 1:15. The low number of teacher in the public school leads to lowering of the teaching standard in these schools. However the high number of the student teacher ratio in the private help in ensuring that individual student is given the attention they deserve. This individualized attention facilitates better performance of the student in the private schools.
- Lack of innovation
- Most of the public schools have weak incentive for innovation and improved performance. These weak incentives are associated with poor funding from the government. The political incentives are known to affect the type of the research and development carried out and hence the innovation that accompany them. One case example is the power of various unions to regulate the research that is related to the introduction of the labor saving technology where research related to labor saving technology has been discredited. However for the case of the private schools it is evident that the management of these schools usually encourages the students to develop better and effective methods of managing the cost of running these institutions. In addition most of the private schools also support innovative ideas so that they can be associated with such ideas.
- School climate
- The school climate, which is the quality and the character of school life, is also different among the private and public schools. The safety of the school also plays a significant role in determining the performance of schools. Other aspects of the school climate include the level of cooperative between the parent and school administration as well as the behavior of the student. Considering the school climate it is evident that most of the public schools have a high exposure to crime or threat far more than the private school. Most of the public schools are characterized by high levels of the level of crime and bulling. These high levels of crime in the public schools interfere with the learning leading to low performance in these schools.
- There is a considerable low level of communication between the teachers and the parents in the public schools. The nature of the contract between the school and parents is also different between the public and the private schools. In this case most of the public schools do not involve the parent with regard to learning of the children. However most of the private schools involve the parent in the learning of the student. In relation to this most of the private schools teachers share a greater sense of the community and therefore more likely to be effective instructors.
- Role of social class
- The social class also plays a significant role in determining the choice of the school that the parents take their kids. In this case, the image of the private school has always been associates with elites among the members of the society. The private school in most cases attract the wealthiest member of the society. In relation to this a study carried out in us indicates that the race also played a significant role in determining the choice of the school indicated that the white students are more likely to go to private schools than the minority blacks are. In the study it was estimated that the 13% of the whites in the eighth grade were likely to attend the private schools compared to 9.2% of the minority blacks (Brown 1401). In addition the research also indicated that the Asians who are found in America are also more likely to take their kid to private school than the white ( Brown 1401). From these studies it was evident that in the United States among the schools going children the blacks were over represented in the public school and under-represented in the private. The Asians on the other hand were over represented in the private schools and at the same time under-represented in the public schools.
- Cost of education
- The cost of education also plays a significant role in determining the choice of the schools that the parents take their kids. The cost of school tuition in the most of the public schools is almost half of the average cost of private tuitions. Due to this high cost of in the private school the parent with low income are forced to take their kids to the public school. In addition most of the private schools also have various requirements during the admission of the student. This in turn discourages the parents with low incomes from taking their kid in these schools. Most of the private schools also offer other services such as the foreign languages thereby increasing the cost of learning in these types of schools. According to the study carried out in UK it was evident continuing rises in the private school fees is placing thousand of the middle class families out of the sector (Private school fee hikes price middle class out of market 2). The study indicates that due to the rise in the cost of education in the private sector the 30% of the percent of the student from the middle level income will be placed out of the private school system.
- Conclusion
- From the above it is evident that there are various problems associated with the public schools, which in turn contributed to lowering of the performance in these schools. The political influence plays a significant role influencing the performance in the performance of the public schools. In this case the various decisions that are made in the public schools are largely inclined to the political process. Poor teaching method exhibited by the teacher in the public schools also contribute to low performance in the private schools. The presence of the teachers union has also contributed to lowing of the performance in the public schools. This is because most of these unions push for centralized administration of schools system therefore denying the school principals the opportunity to control the behavior of the teachers. Moreover the presence of good and modern facilities in the private schools have also contributed in the improving the performance of the private school. It is also evident that the social class and the cost of education also play a significant role in determining the whether the parents take their kids to the private or public schools.
- Work cited
- "Private School Fee Hikes Price Middle Class Out Of Market." Education (14637073) 365 (2009): 2. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
- Al-Natour, Amal, and Dima Hijazi. "Students Achievements In English At Jordanian Private And Public Schools And Parents Attitudes Towards Teaching Their Children At Private Ones: A Comparative Study." Contemporary Issues In Education Research 5.3 (2012): 205-214. Education Research Complete. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
- Brown, Hana. "'They Must Be Discontented': Racial Threat, Black Mobilization And The Passage Of School Closing Policies." Ethnic & Racial Studies 33.8 (2010): 1392-1411. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
- Imran, Muhammad. "Comparative Aspects Of Management Observed By Heads Of Public And Private Schools." Contemporary Issues In Education Research 3.3 (2010): 63-71. Education Research Complete. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
- Misra, Kaustav, and Guangqing Chi. "Measuring Public School Competition From Private Schools: A Gravity-Based Index." Journal Of Geographic Information System 3.4 (2011): 306-311. Computers & Applied Sciences Complete. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
- Roberts, Tamee, Jeremy D. Brunner, and Shawn D. Bills. "ESL Programs And LEP Students: A Comparison Of Public And Private Schools Along The Wasatch Front." Multicultural Education 13.3 (2006): 27-32. Research Starters - Education. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
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